Later on, I heard Smitty from Diesel Crew talk about power bombs on The Fitcast about how a partner was forcefully throwing the kettlebell down from the top of a swing. It was then I got the idea to give a jump-stretch band a go.

Please, hold the parade, it’s nothing profoundly novel. There’s a couple unique benefits I think one can get from using the band tension on the swing. And I’m not certain it’s all good.

You need strong glutes for this kind of nonsense.

First, the tension on the band at the top of the lift causes an accelerated eccentric. This is an overspeed version of the eccentric contraction that normally happens. Try to recall the force velocity curve. As the force increases the velocity generally decreases, except during an eccentric contraction in which case higher velocity will also equate to increased force (to a point). By way of the band, we are able to make the demands of the swing more intense and increase recruitment.

Second, the lowering portion of a swing does look like the landing from a jump. I’ve heard of coaches using swings for beginners in place of some Olympic lifting. This might be a unique way to increase strength in the landing position. In addition there is no impact as there is with plyometrics. I don’t know if this strength would translate to improve landing mechanics–with a good strength program it would be hard to isolate a single variable. And by the time this is programmed they should know how to land and have proper strength in the lower body.

A couple of concerns are the fact that standing on the band can take you for a ride if you aren’t totally stable, so it’s definitely not a beginner move. Second, depending on how much tension you have at the bottom of the swing, it could certainly be possible that the amortization phase of the swing is increased. This would have a negative impact on the stretch shortening cycle and consequentially negatively effect power development. However, playing around with it I don’t notice a difference. I do notice a difference after using the band, the KB seems to levitate for days. It kind of reminds me of the weights you put on a baseball bat when you’re on deck.

Overall, it is kind of fun and a unique stimulus. I’m still trying to figure out exactly how I want to incorporate this into the current progressions or when it could ideally be useful. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Also, check out the youtube pages for the strength coaches mentioned in this:
Mike Robertson
Jim ‘Smitty’ Smith
The FitCast
–
Ryan Patrick
www.peak-fast.com
twitter

Being “one of the guys” for a while, I know that many people cycle through new routines or look for the silver bullet of exercises all the time. There’s really never any direction with the training. Sometimes you train 3 sets of 10 and other times you feel like doing a little more this or a little more that and you end up with this hodgepodge workout that never really develops any consistency.

Do you have plans?

Here again, as in Part II the reps can drive much of the functional changes we want to see. While changing reps is great for long term success, it is but a piece of the workout puzzle.

But for the sake of it, let’s say every four weeks you change up your rep scheme. Over the next 4 months your schedule might look like this:
Month 1: 5×6
Month 2: 4×10
Month 3: 4×8
Month 4: 3×12

Depending on how many exercises you have, you may adjust the number of sets. Rhea et al 2002 show that undulating periodization (as in the scheme above) is superior to linear periodization. Classically the months of periodization would go 12, 10, 8, 6 (or vice versa) but by alternating the months we get what is called alternating periodization. This is superior to #1 No planning and #2 some organized planning (read: linear periodization).

Regarding periodization the most important thing to remember is that failing to plan is planning to fail. Put in the little time it takes to organize your training and you’ll have to stop looking for the magic bullet.

–
RP
www.peak-fast.com
Email
Tweet the deets

I’ve never felt right training for muscle. To me it always seemed an abstract sort of goal. How do you really quantify it? Is that 1 lb per week showing up on the scale real unadulterated muscle?

Now I’ve come to appreciate that training for hypertrophy is a structural goal. Strength, speed, and other kinds of performance are functional goals. Structure will change with a change in function. This means training with intention and deliberately choosing sets, reps, load, etc will likely yield a better increase in function and ultimately hypertrophy. Conversely, if you just throwing everything but the kitchen sink to see what sticks, you will impede the rate of progress.

Most of muscle building dogma is an extension of a bodybuilding subculture. And for the average person, this advice often does not suffice. Workouts are based on little warm ups and choosing multiple exercises to train each muscle. But the ‘body part’ division doesn’t even make sense half of the time. Alwyn Cosgrove has said before, “Where’s the sternocleidomastoid day? What about the cremaster day (ha)?”.

Again to see some structural changes we need functional improvements. Hypertrophy training is often general endurance training in the weightroom. But here’s a fact — to increase the growth of a muscle you need to induce tension on the muscles. For most, lifting weights has solved this issue.

You need tension to grow.

If you choose the number of reps first, you dictate which energy systems will be most dominant during a set. You determine the percent of your 1RM that will likely be used for a set. The rest periods will be based on the degree of neuromuscular or metabolic fatigue induced by a set with that many reps.

For a beginner higher reps may be more beneficial because they develop capillarization of the muscles and increase connective tissue strength–something that is extremely important for larger tensile loads that will come later.

Classically as the reps increase from 1 the continuum of fatigue shifts from primarily a neuromuscular one to a metabolic one. Therefore 20 reps would induce more metabolic fatigue, but less neurological fatigue than a 5 rep set.

One thing you’ll see is that many muscle building enthusiasts have an inability to fluctuate the volume and intensity of their workout programs. Tomorrow I’ll visit a brief discussion of periodization for muscle gains.

–
RP
E-Mail

So how do you building muscle fast? And without adding too much fat. It’s a multi-factorial issue and there really isn’t one straight answer. Eat more and lift heavy is an intellectual shortcut, and if that’s the farthest we’ve come in decades of research we are a little behind the curve.

So let’s take a moment to unlearn some of the “FACTS” of muscle building.

Out: To build muscle you need to hit each bodypart really hard once per week and let it recover.
In: More frequent stimuli will result in BETTER gains

Working a single body part out can feel great. Everyone really feels like they’ve achieved something when they have DOMS. But using this as your gauge for success has limited application because after training this effect decreases. The fact is, training is not what makes you better. It’s recovering from training that makes you improve. And without the right recovery strategies, you’re leaving your gains on the table in the form of wasted effort.

It goes back to Hans Seyle’s General Adaptation Syndrome. When you train, you will have an initial loss in fitness. For example, if you train really hard on Monday (say Chest you big man you), on Tuesday you will not be as strong and likely be sore. This is the physiological representation of the G.A.S.

After the initial period of recovery you should have a gain in fitness. That is, hopefully by the next week you’ll have recovered, become stronger, and can add 5 lbs to the bar, right? Well maybe…

The fact is, after a few days the stimulus for the muscle to grow is gone. So almost half of the week is spent without a new stimulus to continue to prime the muscle building pathways. If you train with such intensity that it takes you a week to recover you are still leaving gains on the table.

Once the body recovers and the fitness curve goes above the initial level (section B in the graph above) then it is the optimal time to retrain and seek further improvement. The new school of thought (read: new to you) is to have multiple 3 full body workouts per week, or 2 upper/lower splits. By doing this, we can reduce the volume done at each workout. This means we may only do 1 exercise for a movement versus 3-5. In addition, this will provide an ample stimulus for the muscle to grow.

Remember, structural damage does have to be repaired in the muscle, but muscle tension is going to provide the genetic stimulus for growth, and it does not need to be excessive. With multiple workouts per week you can have 2 or 3 opportunities to grow. To me, more opportunities is a recipe for success…no?

Do you prefer once, twice, thrice or more times per week?

I’m rushed today, but I’ll definitely have more for you tomorrow.

–
RP
www.peak-fast.com
Email me

There’s obviously a professional boundary we can’t cross as personal trainers, but being negligent to pain due to ignorance is downright STOOPIT.

I’m in an area that has a major bodybuilding supplement company station locally and this leads to a number of young trainers getting interested in the “bodybuilding thang” as they like to say. Another person (gym manager) told me he’s just getting into that and he’s gonna try 400grams of protein per day just to build mo’ muscle.

I respect bodybuilders and I respect bodybuilding, but much of the training and misinformation that surrounds this subculture has NOT gone away. Building muscle is great, but using training techniques (arms & back) from the 1970s is not the way to get people results in the current era.

Sure it might have worked when people were somewhat active in their lives, weren’t at desk jobs and didn’t have a higher BMI on average. I’ve watched countless trainers with an overweight client do straight sets of tricep pressdowns with a client who might be functionally ill. People are sold on panacea protein supplements (cute alliteration, huh?), different pills and pre workout supplements instead of delivering a better workout, a better experience, and an overall better service.

If you want 21st century results for the 21st century client, then you need a 21st century workout. As simple as it seems there are many people not foam rolling, not doing dynamic warm ups, and still prescribing body part splits for clients with 3 hours available to go to the gym per week.

Before I lose the point of a mini rant, I think it’s our professional responsibility to at least try to point these people in the right direction. If we point them to continuing education resources, professional seminars, Perform Better summits, etc..then the onus is on them to provide something better to and for their clients. Fight the good fight.

–
RP
www.peak-fast.com
email

Ring ring..

On  the flipside, the philosophy they prescribe too is largely outdated and my main goal is to get them to pass the exam, not debate about some of the more finite points of functional anatomy or program design.

In talking with some of the other instructors I’m reminded of a skill I value (and am still working on!).  Research often gets passed down the ranks by word of mouth (like the Telephone game kids play) and by the time it gets to the masses it is often misinterpreted, extrapolated, and sometimes flat.out.wrong.

For one thing, a single research study doesn’t prove anything.  There are more factors to be able to specifically tie cause and effect together.  Remember, correlation does not mean causation.  Second, there are limitations to every study that may pertain to the sample population, the method use, and even mathematical manipulation of the statistics.  Many people quoting research never even read the original study and have zero, yes..ZERO idea what even happened or how they arrived at the conclusion they did.

One prime example is the now infamous Tabata study.  I’ve heard everything from, “It’s irrefutably the best method for fat loss” to “Well it’s done with 5 bodyweight exercises for 20s on 10s off for 8 rounds each”.  Hmmm…

I think it’s important not to go by just hearsay in the fitness industry, but to take what you hear and investigate the validity of the claims.  Otherwise you’ll always stay at the bottom of the information food chain and be one step behind the big dogs.

That all being said, I’ve been guilty of this before.

–
RP
Peak Fitness & Sports Training
ryan@peak-fast.com

The...umm...extensor reflex.

The answer, unfortunately isn’t exactly black and white. From a technical standpoint we have to deal with what is known as the extensor reflex. This is essentially the kinetic chain following the lead of the head. If you lean your head back very far (as in looking up in a squat position) the rest of the posterior chain begins to extend as well.

When we are powering out of the hole in the squat, this extensor reflex can create an extended lumbar spine which in turn facilitates anterior pelvic tilt which in turn attenuates maximal glute and hamstring drive–something that is critical in deep angles of flexion.

Furthermore, restrictions in the superficial back line (from Thomas Myer’s work) can promote. hyperextension. He notes the C-spine is an area of tightness and immobility which can be attributed to the origin of hyperextension.

The caveat to all of this is to be certain you not promoting a forward head posture or faux flexion of the spine. Many clients have trouble understanding true flexion as in tucking the chin. At this junction it’s important to educate the client on the value of this.

–
Ryan
www.peak-fast.com
ryan@peak-fast.com

Having an ordered process in your progressions is a very logical and wise thing to do. Here’s why:
1. It keeps people from getting injured – You don’t throw them under the bus with inappropriate exercises.
2. It helps them attain mastery before moving on to more challenging things – More challenging exercises at the wrong time aren’t more challenging, they are totally botched and a waste of you and your clients time when they can’t do them.
3. It makes you look like the hero – This sets up short term wins for the client by getting measurably better. People love being successful.

But pay more than lip service to progressions. Think of progressions like climbing a ladder…generally you take one rung at a time and you need to take your time. Don’t start with a progression and try to skip steps for the sake of it–This results in falling off the ladder. If someone masters a split squat, that’s no reason to assume they would now have a successful reactive Bulgarian split squat jump. While the first step was probably a success, skipping too many steps resulted in a failure.

Second, don’t try to progress before people are ready. People should spend some minimum amount of time on a progression, but not necessarily a maximum time. In terms of the ladder, it’s like trying to climb further when your other foot isn’t stabilized. When it comes to plyometrics, Coach Mike Boyle has said that his clients will spend 3 weeks on each phase regardless. This ensures technical proficiency and allows them to master each step to it’s entirety before progressing.

If someone is NOT ready to move on, then they should stay at the progression for a while longer. Until they master it. If they aren’t progressing noticeably after some time, then perhaps a regression is in order so they can master that.

Set up progressions, honor them, and then tweak them as you go to get the most fluid and efficient progress for you clients.

–
Ryan
www.peak-fast.com
ryan@peak-fast.com

A: First of all, you need to establish why you are doing plyometrics and if they are going to benefit you. Many people haphazardly throw plyometrics into their programming hoping it will get them explosive, or often times because they want some kind of metabolic effect from the plyometrics (usually by people “under”fit using high volume plyos). With plyometric sessions, we’re looking at about 15-25 foot total foot contacts per day, 3-4 days per week.

So on to the benefits of plyometrics (don’t worry, I’ll address the weight vest in a second)…We are trying to develop a increase in specific neuromuscular qualities; namely, starting strength, acceleration strength, and explosive strength and on the mechanical end, improve the storage and restitution of elastic energy. With respect to motor units we need to ask “how fast” and “how many”. How fast can we recruit the motor units, and how many can we recruit them? With plyometrics there is limited time to develop force because you are going to leave the ground or an objects, such as a med ball, may be leaving your hands.

In order to develop as much power as possible there are few things on consider. Putting the most force into the ground during the time you have contact will allow you to generate more force, but increasing the time inherently decreases power. This would seem like a plus for the weight vest because it allows you to increase the time on the ground–more weight needs more total force to leave the ground. This could be beneficial at low loads but as the load increases the dependency on force develop shifts more toward a dependence on maximal strength, not explosive strength–essentially nullifying the intended effect of the exercise.

Moreover, when landing the increased load will have an additional accelerative effect (increased kinetic energy due to increased mass). This increase acceleration necessitates a need for greater deceleration, or eccentric muscle activity. The transition from eccentric to concentric is a brief isometric period of elastic energy storage known as the amortization phase. With the increased load, this time interval of this transition increases which allows the stored energy to dissipate as heat. This, in effect, limits the reactive ability.

Can small loads be useful? Certainly to some extent, but remember increased eccentric action will also lead to increased soreness so use caution with volume (or limit other areas of programming). For those not properly conditioned to attenuate accelerated landing this can lead to serious joint pain. My general recommendation is to find other ways to increase intensity and work through a steady progression of plyometrics before considering a weight vest.

–
Ryan

One thing to note when starting a program, is to remember that it’s just one program. We can’t fix everything is with a single attempt. My friend is currently rebuilding an abandoned house–while he’d like to, he can’t fix everything at once. You need drywall before you can paint, if you get my drift.

Effectiveness –> Intensity –> Frequency –> Volume

Effectiveness is the first issue you want to address with your program. It’s like a math problem…are the tools (exercises) you choose helping you to solve the problem (movement dysfunction, weakness, strength deficits, etc). Furthermore, the effectiveness is going to be limited by your ability to understand the problem (i.e., how well you assess).

Once exercise prescription is effective, now you can add intensity to the exercises — some of the program variables such as sets, reps, tempo, rep speed, etc to drive the change you want. In Supertraining (chap 4), Mel Siff said the training effect is the result of the influence of a means or complex of means on the body as revealed by magnitude quality and stability of the resulting adaptive chances. There is a certain threshold that must exist to drive positive adaptation.

Once these two variables are in place, the rest is gravy. Frequency of training has been shown to be superior to volume (more exposures to stimulus), although a certain amount of volume is necessary. If fitness qualities (such as strength) are skills, then it makes sense to do them more often as apposed to more of them, less often. I have a feeling shooting 700 jump shots 1 day per week would be less effective than shooting 100 per day.

Keep it simple

–
Ryan